By Any Other Name
by blogart
Summary: A one-off character profile of the boy of many names, but no identity.


_**Foreword: This story was not written by me, it was written by a friend who wanted to share it here, hope you enjoy it.**_

In his first year, albus severus potter kept himself to himself. He was not the social butterfly his brother james was, and did not possess the intelligence of his not-quite-best friend rosie weasley. He was sorted into gryffindor, even after having worried so much he almost _had_ wished it had been slytherin, if just for a change from the constant expectations. He excelled in class, through no fault of his own, but through being known as 'the-one-who-was-so-like-harry' and praised by his teachers only for his heredity. More than once he was mocked for being named after two headteachers; their brave accomplishments somewhat dulled over time by the never-ending flow of new students into hogwarts. Albus kept his distance from scorpius malfoy, as instructed to by his father, but could not see why; scorpius seemed ordinary, if a only a little haughty. Certainly not the bully that his father had been; just a regular slytherin. Inevitably when everyone's expectations of albus fell short, by the end of the year, albus vowed that he would go against everything that was expected of him.

In his third year, albus was still struggling. His sister lily, and rosie's brother hugo were both in first year, coping well with the stresses of a new school. Even in her first week, lily was taking after james - both her grandfather and brother- and had more friends then than albus could ever have hoped for. Everywhere he went, he was defined by other people before they even knew him. 'You're a potter, you must be awfully brave', 'they call you albus? you must be so intelligent', 'oh, so your name is severus, how cunning you must be'. Even come the days when he gave up, when butchered his work on purpose, alienated his few friends and once even accidentally set fire to a poor girl called Enoby - an unpleasant name for an unpleasant girl - the teachers would scold him with a reminiscent look in their eye as they remembered how once harry had been scolded. No matter how much he tried to reinvent himself, it became clear to albus that in his name he owed so much to so many people, he could never truly be himself.

He remembered his promise two years ago and tried speaking to scorpius. His father had warned him about the malfoys; a name that should never be spoken in presence of his family; how awful draco had been in hogwarts, a brief gloss over the events at malfoy manor, and how awful scorpius was expected to be now. Like father, like son. But he knew how unlike his own father albus himself was and the next time slytherin and gryffindor were placed together he struck up a conversation. One conversation became several, and though rosie quickly disowned him and his father was highly displeased, secretly albus was happy to have become friends with scorpius, if only for his own benefit.

In his fifth year, albus had no time for such frivolities like a social life. He spoke to scorpius often, spoke freely to his passing classmates about mundane topics never extending beyond the poor scottish weather and the climbing stress levels with imminent OWLS. Rosie contemplated forgiving him, but never really quite got there, and come family gatherings, albus became the black sheep of the family, the 'slytherin-lover'. no matter how much his father had said slytherin was as noble as any of them, this was not a view shared by the weasleys, his mother included. But then scorpius told albus about his name hyperion and how it was a noble name chosen for him, much like scorpius. How the family tradition was astronomy-themed names, like draco and bellatrix. How the future of his family rested on him like a weight to uphold their traditions. Even though he was only fifteen, draco had impressed upon scorpius the single-handed importance on carrying on such a noble linage. and it was then that albus felt better about himself.

Come the end of the year, albus realised something which he had not truly understood before. For five years he had moped about his past, an inability to define who he was, when really he was not at all alone in this. All around him, his peers were named for those fallen in the Battle of Hogwarts: fred weasley II, teddy lupin, percy's daugh, his brother james sirius, his sister lily, and all the others too, kids named in memory of the dead. That's all his generation was; a replacement for the children hogwarts had lost when his father was still a teenager.

In his seventh year, albus was not sure what he wanted to do with his life. He knew what was _expected_ of him, he was expected to be headmaster, or minister for magic or some equally high ranking position. But the expectations were always pushed to the back of his mind as he focused on what he _wanted_ to do instead. Rosie aimed to become a high-ranking ministry official, much like her mother; james had left and assisted in the booming trade that was weasley wizard wheezes. Scorpius told him one cold night in the library about the arranged marriage that his father had set up, the beautiful girl with a noble linage that he didn't really love, but was expected to marry nonetheless. It was not for her beauty, or her personality that scorpius was to marry but her name. The fact that she could trace her name back generations was the best form of currency to people like the malfoys.

More than once albus had managed to use his name to his advantage that year. Though it was probably not the right thing to do, he was named after a slytherin after all, and used it to book interviews and appointments and all manner of useful things which would secure his way to the top. But come that march, when barely-seventeen year old scorpius married, and rosie sat extra NEWTS, albus decided that he did not want to do this any more. He had lost his only friends for the sake of a name: most of the weasleys for they did not want to associate themselves with the name of malfoy, rosie for she did not want to taint her budding school career with the name of slytherin, now scorpius given away merely for a pureblood line. Albus decided to become a healer. That way it didn't matter what his name was. They could address him by his title, and nobody need know what he was really called as long as he cured them. He did not change his name, that would be of great disrespect to his father's wishes, but he disregarded it instead; it was finally not the only thing that defined him. Even though he shared the names of three great people, albus severus potter had become his own man.


End file.
